Red Ribbons & Penguin Park
by Meilin Li
Summary: Mei Ling and someone. : D Bye Xiao Lang!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them.

**Author's Note:** Decided to split this from the random Vignettes I've been posting. Rewrote it a bit.

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><p>I stared at his face through my bangs while he walked. His gaze never fixated on me once, it remained preoccupied with the sidewalk before us, and we were silent the entire way.<p>

He took me to Penguin Park.

I crawled under the big blue penguin slide, hardly fitting pass the child sized hole. I knew he wouldn't fit.

I peered up at him again and found him looking back. He sat down next to me, outside of the penguin shelter, with the umbrella over his head.

As rude as it was, I stared. I couldn't stop myself.

We matched. He looked horrible. And I'm sure I did too. His hair was a stringy mess like a dirty mop haphazardly thrown away. My mascara had turned me into a panda.

A few tremors rumbled through me and the sneezes came and went. It was cold.

He held out his hand. This time, I caught slight irritability in his expression before he turned away. His offered hand was held before me and yet his whole body, including his face, was turned elsewhere.

I blinked at him with furrowed brows. What did he want?

He was swift when his hand reached for mine. It was ice-cold like the sides of the metal penguin during winter. He pulled me from my shelter and wrapped an arm across my back; his hand coming to a rest against the side of my stomach.

Then out of nowhere I was surrounded by warmth.

And the rain stopped again.

_I recalled_...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them.

**Author's Note:** I did write more to this, but I think I might leave it as is.

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><p>She cried pitifully.<p>

The sudden tearing of her heart and she knew; she had to get out of there before she was scattered on the ground in pieces. In a split second, everything lay in ruins. Everyone saw the tears that had begun to brim in her eyes. And in that moment, they had all found out she wasn't as strong as she made herself out to be.

The rain drops were heavy and hard as the pavement pounded beneath her feet.

She didn't care that the crimson ribbons on her head were coming apart from her hair. They were now trailing haphazardly down her soaked back.

She didn't care that her body was shaking from the ice cold pelts thrown never-ending from the heavens. It was late November. At least, that's what she told herself when every breath drawn, between her sobs, was a shaky one.

She didn't care that the red heels she had worked so hard for last month were now soaked, beyond repair. They were red velvet Jimmy Choos.

She just wanted to keep running, and running, and running; because honestly, for the first time she _truly _felt that _she just didn't want to care anymore_.

And it wasn't supposed to hurt like this. Things weren't supposed to go this way. She was supposed to smile, beam, give them her heartfelt congratulations, and go home so she could sulk through the night. But all she could do was run now.

She barely took notice when her heel slipped and caused her ankle to scrape harshly against the rough sidewalk. What was the big deal? She'd done it millions of times when she was learning how to walk in heels. Scrapes heal. Eventually.

Well, that is, until her ankle hurt so much that she had to stop running and kneel down, only to realize that said joint had become swollen and raw. And now that she had stopped, it seemed to claw at her entire leg with every second of her fast beating heart. For a minute or two, she sat on the middle of the sidewalk, fighting off the pain and the bitter cold with shivers that wracked her body.

What was she doing? Hadn't she been through this before? So why only now did the pain truly pierce her heart?

_Maybe because their engagement was the final seal on their lifelong relationship. _

She took a shaky breath and ran her hand down her face to gain her composure back. Really. What else could she do?

Then... a miracle happened. The rain... it stopped.

She held up an open palm. Nothing.

She turned suddenly, looked up, and blinked through the bangs that clung to her forehead. Her eyes stung from the rain _but she didn't care_.

Vaguely, she could make out an umbrella that blocked out the street light that would've revealed the stranger's face.

Who?

Someone had followed her?

All this way? How long had she been running? Hadn't she been running for a long time?

She recognized the pink and yellow sign of the famous pastry shop hanging in the store window before her. It was deep into town, 20-25 minutes away from where she began her journey.

It was a long way, but... they still came after her?

...who?

She strained her neck to one side, squinted up at whoever was there, and when she recognized him, sat jerked back on the soaked pavement in disbelief.

He had been gazing down at her, with what looked like disdain shining deep within his eyes and she stared back defiantly; _because she didn't care_.

His demeanor told her that this was the last place he'd rather be. So why...?

"What?" she managed to croak out, sounding extremely hoarse, not believing that out of all the people in the world it would be _him_. "Why are you following me?"

He knelt down, umbrella in hand, inspecting her with a tilt of his head.

What was he trying to do? She could feel the frustration rising from deep within. Did he just follow to gawk at her misfortune? "What do you want?" She hit the ground with her fists. It wasn't a good idea, but she did it anyway; and her fingers began to burn as the sidewalk broke her skin.

Under his scrutiny, her hot tears mixed with the icy rain, _but she didn't care_...

After a moment, a single crimson ribbon hung limply from his finger tips as an offering. She blinked stupidly and yanked her ribbon from him. His hand lingered for a moment before his other hand held out the umbrella to her.

Hesitantly, feeling a bit guilty for being so brash toward him, she took the umbrella with her scraped up fingers, and he got up to leave. Was that all? Did he trail after her all that way to give her an _umbrella_? She didn't think he was one to care. After all why should he? It's not like he ever spared her a glance, much less even a greeting.

She watched him take a few steps in the rain, his hair starting to string together as strands got wet. She looked at the umbrella in her hand and then up at his retreating back. She rubbed her eyes of her tears and stifled a sneeze. He was leaving, _but she didn't care... right? _

Under the umbrella, she could see the cold, misty air in her warm breath. She shivered again. She'd definitely attribute her next action to the guilt from yelling at him.

But he moved quite briskly in the rain. He was already at the crosswalk when she shouted after him. "Wait!"

He turned back at her voice, squinting in the downpour to get a better look.

"W-Wait..." she said, this time softer when her lips trembled from the cold. Would he stop and turn back?

She got up slowly, still holding the umbrella above her head. Hobbling over to him, she offered him the object he offered to her first. _Was she being caring...?_

He took the umbrella inquisitively.

"I don't need this," she told him and turned to go, feeling the rain upon her back once again, but he stopped her.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms, sliding one arm behind the bend of her knees, the other behind her back, and lifted her into the air; effectively placing her in a princess style carrying position.

She made an unpleasant sound then, as if she was falling from a cliff, and grabbed onto his shirt in surprise. When she realized what was happening, she struggled for a moment in protest but he only held on tighter. "Let me down!"

"Stop," he commanded, his voice stern.

She froze, and looked up at him when he spoke. It was the first time he'd _ever _spoken to her. He was satisfied when she shut her mouth and froze, ceasing to struggle when he shifted her in his arms for a better grip.

The umbrella was over her, and so the rain had stopped again.

"I don't want to go back," she confided in him. And when her voice drifted past his ear like an escaped breeze he begun to walk.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them.

**Author's Note:** Does anyone read CCS anymore? Or did everyone move on to Twilight? xD; This will most likely be the end.

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><p>Feathers... soft white feathers. I looked up in awe; a cathedral of alabaster white.<p>

_I just had to touch..._

His silver-blue eyes immediately pounced, "Quit it." The second phrase he ever said to me_._

I dropped my hand to my side, guilty. Once again I stopped and heeded his words. He was quite intimidating.

I held out an offering between my fingertips. My red ribbon. I wasn't quite sure what I was trying to do. Maybe...appease him?

He stilled and turned his head away from me.

"Yours," He reminded me with a curt word. Third phrase. I looked down at the hard concrete.

_Stop...quit it...yours..._his words brought me amusement even in this situation. Did he know how to say anything else?

I let out a small laugh that was sounded more like a huff of air than a laugh. To my dismay, I also ended in a sequence of coughs. I leaned forward and pulled my knees closer to me for support.

And he pulled me in tighter. Both his arms were around me and I felt my cough catch in my throat.

Up close, he glowed like the moon. I'd never been this near to him before. ...I don't even think he knew my name.

I sat up, straighter. This...didn't feel right. We were strangers; acquaintances at best. But on this night our fates entwined.

Yet, I dared not say a word. For the silence was remarkably pacifying.

Momentarily, I had forgotten about everything but him and I.


End file.
